I’ve about decided that a full book could be written regarding just about every produced movie – Lord knows there’s always enough behind the scenes drama to fill a daytime soap. But I love it. Who was supposed to be in what? Who wrote the script? That stuff. The success of X movie produced Y.

OLIVE FILMS

And here’s a story about a Robert Redford motorcycle picture called Little Fauss and Big Halsey, recently released for the first time on home video by Olive Films.

Al Ruddy came to Hollywood in the early 60s and as a young pup sold what has become a classic sitcom called Hogan’s Heroes. Ruddy and Charles Eastman wrote the script for Little Fauss and sold it to Paramount with a then hot director named Sidney Furie (who was bankable because of The Ipcress File and The Naked Runner). Redford was brought on board in the process as was my friend and lifelong Ruddy partner Gray Frederickson. [Read on here...]

Little Fauss was a hit, released just after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It was kept on budget and caused no problems for the studio.

Now that Ruddy and Frederickson had a name in the business they partnered with screenwriter Peter Bart, then a Paramount executive, on a 20th Century Fox film called Making It. It was during the production of this film that Ruddy and Frederickson received word from Paramount that their next assignment would be a film which, like Little Fauss would need to be done on the cheap. The Godfather.

So, the successful production of Little Fauss and Big Halsey was perhaps the most influential factor for Paramount to trust Ruddy and Frederickson to shepherd what could be the greatest studio picture ever made.

Here’s another goodie, and the reason Little Fauss is a must own – its score was written and recorded by Johnny Cash, and Gray spent a week or so at the music giant’s house as the score was recorded and talks as if it were just another week in the park. I’d still be there.

Olive also recently started a new line of Blu-rays called Olive Signature. Highlighting cult favorites, time-honored classics, and under-appreciated gems, each Olive Signature edition boasts a pristine audio and video transfer, newly designed cover art, and an abundance of exciting bonus material. The first two releases were High Noon and Johnny Guitar, followed by Orson Welles’ Macbeth.

WARNER ARCHIVE

Warner Archive is already ahead of the curve when it comes to holiday shopping. It’s been a joy to watch the movie buffs here release their gems to the world.

First, Warner Archive is the only place for Blu versions of the timeless Bogart Bacall movies such as Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Dark Passage and Key Largo. Here are some more of their suggested gift items:

Charlie Chan 3-Film Collection – This trio of classic Charlie Chan mysteries made by Monogram pictures may give us two different Charlies (Sidney Toler and Roland Winters), but both styles of super sleuth must tackle truly draconian mysteries and murder. Includes The Red Dragon (1945), The Feathered Serpent (1948) and The Sky Dragon (1949). The first title stars Toler, who took over from the original Chan Warner Oland and the last two stars the final actor to plan Chan in the series Winters.

FitzPatrick Travel Talks: Volume 1 (1934-46) – For over 20 years on behalf of MGM, writer/producer/director/narrator James A. FitzPatrick traveled the world with his camera providing simple, straight forward looks at what was best and most interesting in a location and allowing a generation of movie-goers to experience the world from their local movie house. In this first collection, selected from over a decade of travels, he visits locales like pre-war Tokyo, post-revolution Ireland, street-car-connected Los Angeles, pre-occupation Paris and the sleepy lumber city of Seattle, gateway to wild Alaska!

FitzPatrick Travel Talks: Volume 2 (1934-45) – In this second volume, a collection of 60 of James FitzPatrick’s famed Technicolor travelogues, we once again crisscross the globe, in the years before World War II: Holland, Japan, and Zion Canyon, along with poignant portraits of life in Spain, Egypt and Australia. With the war limiting his travel options, FitzPatrick narrows his lens to bring the sights and sounds of the Americas vividly to life during the early ’40s, from Ontario to Massachusetts to Venezuela.

Forbidden Hollywood: Volume X (1931-33) – The tenth and final volume containing a quintet of controversial pre-Code classics. Lionel Barrymore stars in W.S. Van Dyke’s Guilty Hands, co-starring Kay Francis, from Oklahoma. Next Warren William is crowned the pre-Code King with his breakout performance in James Flood & Elliott Nugent’s The Mouthpiece. Then Edward Sutherland spills the Secrets of the French. Warren William follows with Howard Bretherton and William Keighley’s acclaimed biopic The Match King and Barbara Stanwyck sizzles as a spouse torn between love and country in Archie Mayo’s Ever in My Heart.

Monogram Cowboy Collection: Volume 9 – Johnny Mack Brown (1946-48) – Cowboy king Johnny Mack Brown became the first name in westerns while riding high for Monogram Pictures in the mid-’40s. After retiring his Nevada Jack persona, he went on to battle the bad guys as Johnny Mack Brown. The nine sagas contained here cover this transition as Johnny plays a succession of character variations on his own name (Johnny Macklin, Johnny Mack, Johnny Mackey) before finally saddling up as Johnny Mack Brown. Collection contains The Gentleman from Texas (1946), Trailing Danger, Land of the Lawless, The Law Comes to Gunsight, Code of the Saddle, Flashing Guns (1947), Frontier Agent, The Fighting Ranger and The Sheriff of Medicine Bow. (1948).

Personal privilege here – Warner Archive also recently released on of my favorite “sleeper” films Time After Time with Malcom McDowell and Mary Steenbergen. This movie also has a precious score by Miklos Rosza.

INTRADA

Since we mentioned movie music, as we shall more and more as time goes by, the great folks at Intrata are always interested in all things Rosza. This record store/CD producer offers many of the composer’s rarest scores – like Desert Fury and Five Graves to Cairo and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.

New titles from Intrada include a two cd package of Danny Elfman’s wonderful, overlooked score from Dick Tracy, Basil Poledouris’ The Blue Lagoon, John Barry’s The Last Valley and The Day of the Locust, Alex North’s Cheyenne Autumn, Henry Mancini’s Silver Streak, W.C. Fields and Me and Santa Clause: The Movie and an unprecedented six cd box of Elmer Bernstein’s majestic score of The Ten Commandments.

CINELICIOUS PICS

No less than The New York Times hailed the re release of a 1960 sex crime thriller called Private Property, a film that “teeters on the edge of morbidity before its galvanizing climax.” The film, once considered lost and now newly restored played theaters in New York last spring to other rave reviews.

News of this picture would have been enough. I can think of similar discoveries in years past like Murder By Contract and The Plot Against Harry, but Private Property has one element none others do – the casting of the essential character actor Warren Oates in a lead role.

You know Warren Oates, right? He played character parts in The Wild Bunch and In the Heat of the Night and Two Lane Blacktop while handling leading roles in Dillinger, filmed in Oklahoma City, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and Cockfighter. Oates was a cult actor from the word go who never failed to be anything less than entertaining.

Private Property is now available in a stunning Blu-ray Cinelicious Pics.

COHEN FILM COLLECTION

In the same vein, we are also about to get our first Blu-ray of the restored Sudden Fear, a lost RKO noir gem with Joan Crawford turned loose from both MGM and Warner Brothers and on the verge of making some of her most entertaining movies like Johnny Guitar, Queen Bee, Autumn Leaves and, eventually, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.

TIME LIFE VIDEO

Bob Hope, the greatest entertainer of the 20th century, was above all a patriotic American dedicated to our troops around the world. His star-studded USO Christmas shows brought a taste of home to servicemen and women scattered thousands of miles from their families. Bob rang in the Christmas season with the biggest stars in Hollywood along with major figures from the worlds of sports and music, and cracked jokes with his celebrity pals and presidents alike.

Thanks for the Memories, a six DVD set from Time Life Home video features 13 specials from Bob’s career, spanning five decades with dozens of celebrity guests. Highlights include:

The best of the bloopers from 30 years of Bob’s shows with George Burns, Sammy Davis Jr., Angie Dickinson, Phyllis Diller, Burt Reynolds, Don Rickles, Brooke Shields, Elizabeth Taylor, Mr. T, John Wayne and others.

Time Life is also bringing back to viewers the carefree genius of Johnny Carson with The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson: The Vault Series. This collection features Johnny and the inimitable Tonight Show crew in full episodes fresh from Carson’s vaults – including commercials!

These packages feature some of the best and most requested episodes from over 30 years and 4,000 shows – including material not seen by the public since the original broadcasts! Among the many highlights are the 10th and 11th anniversary shows and Johnny’s birthday episodes, a week of shows from March 1976, visits from Carnac the Magnificent and the Mighty Carson Art Players, and Johnny singing Rhinestone Cowboy astride a donkey.

Carson is also at his best bantering with famous friends including Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Richard Pryor, Muhammad Ali, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Sean Connery, John Denver, Peter Fonda, Charlton Heston, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Paul McCartney, Burt Reynolds, Don Rickles, Orson Welles, and many others. Hours of highly-entertaining bonus features are also included on the multi-disc sets, and feature bonus monologues, in-depth interviews, and additional clips with Lucille Ball, James Brown, Rodney Dangerfield, David Letterman, Joan Embery and her wild animals, the beloved Aunt Blabby and a Hollywood stuntwoman demonstration.

The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson: The Vault Series retail DVD configurations includes a single disc release (two shows), a three disc collector’s set (six shows + nearly an hour of bonus features) a six disc collector’s set (12 shows + two hours of exclusive extras) and a 12-disc deluxe edition collector’s set (24 shows + over four hours of exclusive extras; $99.95 SRP).

TWILIGHT TIME

It seems that our friends at Twilight Time never stop, planning and plotting in their cave of rare pictures that need their special touch. Here’s what’s coming soon.

For December look for Stardust Memories, a top five Woody Allen at my house, Bogart, Gardner and an Oscar Winning Edmond O’Brien in The Barefoot Contessa, The Keys to the Kingdom, with Gregory Peck, 1960’s The Three Worlds of Gulliver, and Nicholas Nickleby from 2002.

In January there’s a Jane Fonda double feature Stanley and Iris with DeNiro directed by Martin Ritt and Comes a Horseman with an Oscar nominated Richard Farnsworth directed by Alan Pakula. There’s also Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn in the cult classic Two for the Road, and a 3-D presentation of The Mad Magician with Vincent Price and some 3-D shorts.

And, as I can’t be sure of a publishing date, the group is having a huge sale through early December.

KINO LORBER

Absolution is one of those lost pictures that seems to turn up in the dollar bin in thrift stores. Finally Kino Lorber has given the film the restoration it deserves. Written by the legendary Anthony Shaffer, of Sleuth fame, the picture stars a late career (nee fantastic) Richard Burton as a priest in the middle of murder. By all means take the opportunity to see this picture. Also from Kino Lorber see Back Roads with Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones, directed by no less than Martin Ritt, two war pictures – Ambush Bay, with Hugh O’Brien and Mickey Rooney and Beachhead, with Tony Curtis and Frank Lovejoy and the great Charles Chrichton directing Peter Sellers and Robert Morley in The Battle of the Sexes.

AND FINALLY…

I have to close on one of the most bittersweet notes of my life. Leon Russell died very recently. It’s a tragic because he can no longer create and I’ll never again see him perform, however, as he has been my favorite musical singer and songwriter since I was in high school, I have every commercial and some non commercial recordings he made, saw him in concert no less than 35 times and got him to perform at Governor Mary Fallin’s inaugural here in Oklahoma that I produced. He was a proud Oklahoman. And we’re all heartbroken.

Do me a favor – if you’re unfamiliar, find a song on YouTube or something and play it right now. And say “this song’s for you Leon.”

In announcement news today, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has set The Girl on the Train for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on 1/17, with a Digital HD release due on 1/3. Bonus features will include audio commentary with director Tate Taylor, deleted and extended scenes, and 2 documentary featurettes (The Women Behind the Girl and On Board the Train). [Read on here…]

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has announced Homeland: The Complete Fifth Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 1/10. Extras will include 2 featurettes (The Evolution of Carrie Mathison and Homeland in Berlin: Beyond the Wall).

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC have announced the 2/7 Blu-ray and DVD release of the animated Justice League Dark feature film. You’ll be able to buy a Digital HD version on 1/24.

Well Go USA Entertainment has set The Monkey King 2 for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/2, with the Digital release set for 12/6.

And Olive Films has announced that its January 2017 slate will include Hooperman: Season 1 and Hooperman: Season 2 on DVD only, along with Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!, Sabotage, The Men’s Club, and Wagon Tracks all on both Blu-ray and DVD. Street date for all is 1/24.

Also today, Paramount has confirmed (via Amazon pre-order listings) that one their next 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray releases will be Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival. Street date is TBA, but you can see the temp cover artwork below.

There should be something for everyone in that batch, so we hope you enjoy them! Be sure to check back on Monday for more 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews, as well as a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate for a title that… well, let me give you a clue…

In announcement news today, Marvel and Disney have finally announced the Blu-ray release of Marvel’s Daredevil: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray on 11/10 (SRP $39.99). All 13 episodes will be included, though there’s no word of any extras.

Meanwhile, Disney has also announced a Disney’s The Jungle Book 3D: Collector’s Edition for release on 11/15. The 3-disc set includes the Blu-ray 3D version of the film plus the previously-released regular Blu-ray, and DVD. The set will also include 5 new featurettes (The Bare Necessities: From the Jungle to the Bayou, The Return of a Legend, The Jungle Effect, Developing Kaa, and The Jungle Book Around the World) in addition to the previously-released features. Clearly, this is a new pattern for Disney releases, because it’s the same thing they did with Star Wars: The Force Awakens – release a regular Blu-ray and then a Collector’s Edition with Blu-ray 3D later.

Lionsgate has set The Wild Life for Blu-ray Combo, DVD, and On Demand release on 11/19, with the Digital HD release due on 11/22.

Scream Factory has just set the Poltergeist II: The Other Side – Collector’s Edition and the Poltergeist III: Collector’s Edition for release on Blu-ray on 1/24/17. Each will include brand new extras (TBA).

CBS has finally set Star Trek: The Original Series – The Roddenberry Vault for Blu-ray release on 12/13 (SRP $76.99). The 2-disc set will include 12 Original Series episodes, along with “behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the series as well as alternate takes, deleted scenes, omitted dialogue, outtakes, and original visual FX elements.”

Falco Ink has set Doctor Thorne for release on DVD on 10/18 and Digital HD on 10/17. This is a new British film from the creator of Downton Abbey.

On the catalog front, Warner has announced a new Space Jam: 20th Anniversary Edition for release on Blu-ray Combo on 11/15 (SRP $19.98). It will come in new Steelbook packaging. Extras will include audio commentary with director Joe Pytka, Bugs Bunny (voiced by Billy West), and Daffy Duck (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker), the Jammin with Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan featurette, and a pair of music videos.

Here’s something interesting: Paramount has just announced a new It’s a Wonderful Life: 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition for release on 10/11. We don’t have the SRP yet, and it doesn’t appear that the set will include any new disc-based extras. This is just a repackage with swag. You get the most recent Blu-ray version (with the original B&W and colorized version of the film), a DVD, and a set of “limited edition art cards.” Here’s what it looks like...

For you U.K. Blu-ray fans, Eureka is releasing Roxanne (1987) on Blu-ray and DVD combo (in the U.K. only) on 11/21.

First... we now know that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment plans to release War Dogs on 4K UHD BD on 11/22, but we also know (because they’ve been listed for pre-order on Amazon) that they’re also bringing Goodfellas, The Unforgiven, Sully, I Am Legend, The Town, and Argo to the format before the end of the year. Click on the title links provided to pre-order.

All right, we’ve been busy here at The Bits these last couple days. Just a quick note first: Tomorrow is my birthday, so I’m not working. I turn 49, if you can believe it, which I can’t. But that’s how these things go. In any case, to make up for it, we’ve got a bunch of good stuff for you all to enjoy today. So let’s get to it...

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has officially set DC’s Suicide Squad for release on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format on 12/13 (SRP $44.99, but Amazon has it discounted right now for just $29.99), along with the Suicide Squad: Extended Cut that same day on Blu-ray Combo, Blu-ray 3D Combo, and DVD (selling for $24.99, $29.99, and $17.95 on Amazon at the moment, respectively). Note that the 4K UHD package will include the theatrical cut on 4K but the Extended Cut on Blu-ray. Amazon also has a retailer exclusive version of the regular Blu-ray packaged with a Harley Quinn figurine and another with a Deadshot figure (SRP $116.99 for each of those). The Digital HD release is due on 11/15. Warner hasn’t yet announced what the special features might be on this release, and frankly it’s a puzzle what will be in the Extended Edition. Word is there were two versions of the film produced originally: Director David Ayer’s darker version and a more poppy and colorful version cut together by Trailer Park (which produced the film’s trailer campaign and probably the special features too). The final theatrical version – which was a hot mess – was apparently a strange hybrid of the two. So now we get a new Extended Cut. Not sure what to make of it. But I guess we’ll see. You can see the cover artwork for the Blu-ray versions here (click on each to pre-order)...

Warner has also made Constantine: The Complete Series available for release on Blu-ray Disc via the Warner Archive – it’s available now.

Also today, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has officially set Jason Bourne for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release on 12/6, with the Digital HD due on 11/15. Extras on all versions will include 2 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Bringing Back Bourne and The Athens Escape), 3 Bourne to Fight stunt featurettes (Bare-Knuckle Boxing, Close Quarters, and Underground Rumble), and 2 Las Vegas Showdown featurettes (Convention Chaos and Shutting Down the Strip). Here’s the cover artwork for that…

As you can see, Universal has also set Roger Corman’s Death Race 2050 for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on 1/17/17. The film stars Manu Bennett and Malcolm McDowell. Extras on the Blu-ray will include 3 featurettes (The Making of 2050, Cars! Cars! Cars!, and The Look of 2050).

Meanwhile, Olive Films has set Brazil (1944) and Cheers for Miss Bishop (1940) for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/6, along with Borderless (2014) on DVD only.

PBS Distribution will release the Smithsonian Channel’s Building Star Trek documentary on DVD only on 11/1.

And Lionsgate has set Southside with You for Blu-ray and DVD release on 12/13, with the Digital HD version due on 11/19.

That’s all for now. Enjoy the reviews, have a pleasant Friday, and a great weekend. And for those of you in the Southeast who might be in the path of Hurricane Matthew over the next few days, stay safe!

I think it’s time we caught up. Walking outside during this Oklahoma summer is like tasting something after it’s been in the microwave about eight minutes. The heat and stupidity started even before Memorial Day and has not abated. It’s like we’re living on Mars – I’ve been pricing those spacesuits which protected Matt Damon.

But thank goodness for the movies. Especially the kind one watches in the comfort of one’s own home. Let’s discuss.

Here’s a serious complaint – as I learned over the years, watching a great film is a multi-sensory experience – you see, you listen, you emote. And for me, always a major component of that experience is the music score. For those who pay attention, music is usually the heart of the movie – name a classic up through about 1990 or so for which you can’t hum a main theme. Or name a dud or two with a score that is better than the picture. [Read on here...]

I said 1990 because that’s when movie viewers such as I watched as film scores started their descent toward ineffectuality, actually where we stand today. Try to hum a melody from Batman v Superman or Spotlight or even a modern classic like The Lobster. Even toward the end of the golden age, there were those composing terrific scores – John Barry did Dances with Wolves (a score far better than the film) Ennio Morricone added luster to The Untouchables, and Jerry Goldsmith thumped over the opening credits of both Total Recall and Basic Instinct.

Come on, other than Randy Newman, name three terrific film composers working today? You can’t.

That’s why a company like Intrada is so essential for true film buffs. They find scores from classic movies, use modern recording techniques to bring the ear maximum pleasure, then release them to the waiting stereo systems for the sheer pleasure.

Here’s a case file study from yours truly – Olive Films, of which we’ll talk much more, recently released a slate from the terrific, later work of Otto Preminger. The other night I sat down to view the Blu-ray of Hurry Sundown. Now, we all know this picture is a little hokey and Michael Caine was totally miscast, but, compared to our choices in the local bijou, HS is solid and totally commands interest. Plus Olive’s transfer to Blu-ray is eye popping.

I’d known the name Hugo Montenegro for years – look him up on Spotify and he’s right up there with Andre Kostelanetz, Percy Faith, those kinds of guys who would worked under contact with record companies to arrange and record pop songs and put them on disc. I remember specifically having a 45 of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly theme by Hugo Montenegro, although, of course, it was written by Ennio Morricone.

For Hurry Sundown, I was surprised to see that Montenegro actually composed the score and that it was terrific – after the movie I went to YouTube and found some cuts. And also found that he had also scored the Duke’s The Undefeated, Sinatra’s Lady in Cement, and several Dean Martin/Matt Helm movies.

About a week later I got an email from Intrada announcing a new release of the score on CD, so I of course had to have it to feed my iPod and have listened lots since.

What was your first soundtrack album? Mine was one of two – True Grit, because that was and is a bellwether film experience for me and Viva Max because, if you’ll recall from other musings I’ve posted, we watched it filming. I also remember The Sting because it was an early purchase with my own funds – from, believe it or not, giving piano lessons.

But then soundtracks were what I bought. I especially loved Henry Mancini, whose biography is a must read if you want to know the business side of scoring, composing, recording and music publishing. Of course, Oklahoma Crude was an early favorite, but I knew Pink Panther, and Baby Elephant Walk, and Peter Gunn and so on.

Intrada has lovingly released two of my favorite Mancini scores. First there’s The Great Waldo Pepper, a George Roy Hill/Redford picture that was a little odd in its day but which had an almost military march sort of feeling that’s pretty catchy. The other is Mancini’s score for Silver Streak, that I don’t remember being recorded before – or maybe I just didn’t have it. It’s a fantastic companion to the movie, one of Hank’s best – all railroad themed and fun.

Another favorite was Jerry Goldsmith, who, actually like Mancini, I was able to meet when I grew up. I remember distinctly seeing Goldsmith’s name on Planet of the Apes, as a kid but of course it was unknown to me at the time that those percussive sounds were the benchmark of a landmark movie score. I also had the Patton album and, I’m sure, others, but it was Chinatown that played on my turntable until the grooves wore off.

Intrada has released a total, revelatory soundtrack of Chinatown that offers what might be the loveliest, most appropriate film noir soundtrack ever.

Go to www.intrada.com and see for yourself. Their inventory is not just for the classics.

Olive Films & Catalog Indie Blu-ray Releases

A real find this month from Olive is a 1984 made for Showtime feature called The Ratings Game, directed by and starring Danny Devito, which is a poor man’s version of Network but has its own share of laughs and indictments of the entertainment industry. Devito shows an early version here of the nasty business he would expound upon with movies like Throw Momma from the Train and War of the Roses. The Ratings Game is a great find by the folks at Olive.

Also from Olive is the Blu-ray edition of Stagecoach, starring all four Highwaymen in 1986; Otto Preminger’s Tell Me That You Love Me Junie Moon, a groovy comedy from 1970 with an early performance by Liza Minelli and a true family favorite from the late 60s called Yours, Mine and Ours, starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball in a sort of Brady Bunch type comedy. Go to olivefilms.com

The Shout! Factory has made your correspondent quite happy with their Blu-ray release of… yes, The Gong Show Movie, which brought Chuck Barris and the gang, including a topless Jaye P. Morgan, to the silver screen. I’ll bet I saw it five times in the theater and this classic has never been released in any home video format.

I used to skip last hour at Purcell High School in those pre VCR barely had cable days to watch The Gong Show, which, I realize now, was satirizing American Idol and other crappy shows of that ilk 40 years before they were ever on the air. I loved it then and watch you tubes of it now.

Actually, my friend Brad Copeland had Chuck on the radio several years ago and let me sit in. To even get to speak to this genius was an honor. I asked him then if episodes of The Gong Show would every officially be released on home video. His response?

“Who would ever want to watch that?” he said.

Go to the shoutfactory.com website and see the company’s other new releases like the semi disaster pics Rollercoaster, which I think was the last movie (unless it was Battlestar Galactica) released in Sensurround, and Two Minute Warning.

Shout! Factory is also keen on television releases, like The Bold Ones, both The Senator with Hal Holbrook, and The Defenders with E.G. Marshall.

Kino Lorber also, each month, offers terrific finds, usually restored to Blu-ray. A recent headliner is The Taking of Pelham 1… 2… 3 with Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw and Martin Balsam.

Pelham has grown in stature since its release – especially with the Denzel Washington/Tony Scott remake and I don’t remember the original being a box office smash. However, from the first time I saw Pelham in the theater, it’s been a favorite – the politics of New York, great villains and, of course, Matthau, one of the most versatile and off kilter leading men of all time. If one hasn’t seen this classic, Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray is a most own.

There’s more – John Huston’s legendary film of Moby Dick, with Gregory Peck and Orson Welles and a script by Ray Bradbury in Blu-ray, along with Robert Wise’s film noir The Captive City, and his adult romance Two for the Seesaw, with Robert Mitchum and Shirley Maclaine.

For the serious film buff, KL has really dusted off some silent treasures by Fritz Lang – Spies and Woman in the Moon. All these are available at kinolorber.com.

Warner Archive is thrilling its fans by releasing several of their true, honest to goodness classics in Blu-ray. What started as a few releases every month or so, has now turned into an avalanche. These films are so well known and important they need no introduction.

How about musicals like Victor Victoria or Silk Stockings or The Unskinable Molly Brown or Bogart classics like To Have and Have Not or Father of the Bride or even 1973’s The Deadly Trackers with Richard Harris and Rod Taylor?

As we were speaking of music earlier, we must remember that the DVD invasion also includes fantastic opportunities to enjoy live performances. This month we get some dandies as Time Life releases Opry Video, an eight-disc box set which features some of America’s greatest country performers in their natural habitat, from the 1950s through the 70s. Here’s Cash and Parton and Jones and Wynette and Lynn and Ray Price and all in between. Absolute treasure.

Michael Pare is an unstoppable leading mean, who brings something different to every role he plays while also being a true eagle – an honest and evocative person who has seen it all in the entertainment business. From Streets of Fire to Into the Storm to Eddie and the Cruisers, the dude’s made over 125 movie and TV appearances and I had the honor of speaking to him regarding his newest picture, a western called Traded, which also features Tom Sizemore (a hell of a fine actor) and country singers Trace Adkins and Kris Kristofferson.

Traded has all the elements we have come to expect in a Western film and with that cast will most certainly be a video hit. It’s available on disc and pay per view.

We mustn’t forget our friends at Twilight Time – who recently, and most surely will again, had a colossal sale on their very rare products. There are those of us who can’t wait until their updated release list comes around and as I’ve really had some time to watch some of their incredible discs, I’d like to expound.

Cowboy is the Twilight Time find of the year so far. I had no idea what a terrific western this is and, until now hadn’t realized that with Jubal (another Twilight Time offering) and 3:10 to Yuma and Cowboy, Glenn Ford and director Delmer Daves could easily be identified in the same breath as Randolph Scott and Budd Boetticher or James Stewart and Anthony Mann for superior Western pictures in the 50s.

Cowboy was all premise – Glenn plays an earthy cattle baron who is forced to take newbie Jack Lemmon on a drive. That’s where convention stops. What follows is an incredibly adult story of life in the West with unforgettable characters, fast quick action and a tough brutal worldview. Buy this movie.

I also had never seen either Hawaii or The Hawaiians and I’m glad I waited until the Twilight Time releases to do so. Both are epic in the true sense of the word as well as a total feast to the eyes and ears.

Inserts is for sure a lost movie which Twilight Time has blessed with its profound work. It’s seedy and nasty for sure, telling a story of adult filmmaking in the day, but this Blu-ray offers essential viewing.

Also available from Twilight Time is Hardcore, a tough, important picture directed by Paul Schrader and starring a raging George C. Scott as a Calvinist father whose daughter has fallen into southern California porn; Romeo is Bleeding, a modern noir with Gary Oldman, and the Fred Zinneman classic The Member of the Wedding.

The Great George Hamilton

Now for a bit of personal privilege. I’ve mentioned before that I’m darn lucky to have Gray Frederickson in my life – he’s an industry veteran with an Oscar for producing The Godfather Part II and a hallowed reputation in Hollywood. One of his greatest friends since the late 60s is George Hamilton and actually, I had spent a little time with him, but Gray had always told me what a joy it was to spend real time with one of the last true leading men in the movie business.

I can’t announce why Mr. Hamilton visited Oklahoma – let’s just say he might be sinking his teeth into a sequel of one of his most popular films – but a day with this man was all it was made out to be. I’m not the first to say he may be the greatest dinner companion in modern history, like say some of the great wits of the 20s. Every question you ask is answered with a story. An unbelievable story. Like the first time George met Robert Mitchum for Home from the Hill – Mitchum was sitting under a tree talking to a man reposing on the lowest branch, who turned out to be William Faulkner, or the time he got a leading part because he caught a studio head misbehaving while George was posing as a French room service waiter or his version of what happened when Sarah Miles’ manager was murdered during the filming of The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing.

When you see a George Hamilton picture on TV or you see him interviewed or whatever, know that he is a man among men and I’m counting the minutes until I can pepper him with questions once again. I even called our Governor, Mary Fallin to come hang out with us.

That’s the age we’re in friends – and it’s glorious. These movies, which played theaters then were immediately sold to television, where they were demeaned by local editors and blown out of proportion by the small screen.

All right, we have a couple of quick additional bits of news and notes for you today... [Read on here…]

First up, Disney’s newly announced Beauty and the Beast: 25th Anniversary Edition will also include the “workprint” version from the previous Blu-ray release, but only as a digital copy. It’s replaced on the disc itself by the new sing-along version.

In actual announcement news, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Jodie Foster’s Money Monster on Blu-ray and DVD on 9/6.

Image Entertainment has set The Commitments: 25th Anniversary Edition for Blu-ray release on 8/30.

Along similar lines, Anchor Bay has set Sing Street for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/26. The film is about a young band trying to make their way in Dublin in the 1980s, directed by John Carney of Once fame. We hear the film is pretty good.

Magnolia Home Entertainment (via their Magnet label) is releasing Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise on Blu-ray and DVD on 8/2.

Starz and Anchor Bay have set limited series The Girlfriend Experience for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/2 as well.

Here’s an interesting title: FilmRise has set Monster Hunt for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/1, in two different versions: Dubbed English and the original Mandarin with English subtitles. This a combination live action/CG animation 3D film from 2015 that became China’s highest grossing film ever (before The Mermaid eclipsed it at the Chinese box office a few months later). There’s no indication that FilmRise’s Blu-ray will include 3D, but we’ll see.

Shout! Factory (via their Shout! Kids label) has set Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom for Blu-ray and DVD Combo release on 9/27.

Shout! has also set Fanny for Blu-ray release on 9/20.

I think we’ve mentioned this before, but Universal will officially release Hardcore Henry on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/26.

HBO will release Veep: The Complete Fifth Season on Blu-ray and DVD on 9/20.

Arrow Video has set Dead End Drive-In for Blu-ray release on 9/20.

Kino Lorber will release Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler on Blu-ray on 9/13 (with the DVD set for 8/23).

And Kino Lorber has announced that they’ve acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Sand Storm, which was the winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year. It will debut at the Film Forum in New York on 9/28.

In other news today, MGM has just renewed its home entertainment distribution deal with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. You can read more here at Home Media. The new deal extends to June 2020.

Twice is reporting that Amazon has begun to add Dolby Vision to some of their streaming titles. More on that here.

The big news today is that Microsoft revealed, at the E3 gaming convention this morning, that it plans to bow an upgraded Xbox One S in August for just $299 that will include “4K Ultra HD Video and Blu-ray” support and “HDR gaming” support. Now... the company is being a little cagey in their wording as to whether or not the unit will support actual UHD Blu-ray Discs. And I’m betting there’s a reason for that: Sony is also being cagey as to whether or not their forthcoming PS4 (which will also support 4K and HDR) will include Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc support. Here’s the thing: I’ve confirmed with Sony that the company is working on their own 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player, probably for release later this year. But details remain sketchy. It could very well be that the upgraded PS4 is meant to be their mainstream UHD BD player, as was the case with the PS3 before it. Because they’re being so vague, Microsoft is too. Both companies want to be competitive with their price point. Keep in mind that the entry level price for UHD BD is already just $399. It will be interesting to see what happens in the months ahead.

“Introducing the new Xbox One S. Play the greatest games lineup, including Xbox 360 classics, on a 40% smaller console. Experience richer, more luminous colors in games and video with High Dynamic Range. Stream 4K video on Netflix and Amazon Video, and watch UHD Blu-ray movies in stunning 4K Ultra HD. Then get the enhanced comfort and feel of the new Xbox Wireless Controller, featuring textured grip and Bluetooth.”

UPDATE ON PRICING: It’s $399 for the 2 TB version launching in August, and $299 for the 500 GB version in December.

Anyway, you can read more here, here, and here, and you can see screenshots confirming the “4K Ultra HD Video and Blu-ray“ support of the Xbox One S from the company’s own E3 trailer this morning...

Also this morning, we have an update for you on Madman Entertainment’s forthcoming Region B Blu-ray release of Universal’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV series (due on 8/17). Madman tells us they’ve committed to releasing the best possible set they can afford to, given the high production costs and tight margins they face, which is why this is a limited release. This isn’t a full digital restoration – Universal sadly hasn’t paid to do one, only to scan the original episodes in HD. But Madmen tells us that the episodes still look great overall. There’s just the occasional scratch and blemish to contend with. They unfortunately don’t have the budget to approach Gil Gerard and Erin Gray to record new interviews and commentary, though they would certainly have loved to, but they are working to put together “the best collection possible using the materials available.” Universal’s HD scans were apparently done with TV syndication in mind only, so the theatrical film and feature-length episodes aren’t yet available in HD. As such, the Blu-ray will include all 39 episodes (in the original 4x3 aspect ratio) with LPCM 2.0 audio, and the following extras:

Bonus Theatrical Version of the Pilot episode (in Standard Definition)

Bonus Feature-length version of Flight of the War Witch (in Standard Definition)

Ending and Opening sequences for 2-part version of Awakening

Bonus Syndicated 2-part version of Journey to Oasis (in HD)

Opening Titles without narration

Textless Opening and Closing Titles

Isolated Music & Effects Audio Track on each episode

Bonus A3 double-sided poster of Gil Gerard and Erin Gray

Easter Eggs include Textless “in show” footage for most episodes

Here’s what the packaging will look like (click to visit the Madman Entertainment pre-order page)...

Meanwhile, the Region 4 DVD version will include all 39 episodes (in the original 4x3 aspect ratio) with LPCM 2.0 audio, and the following:

Bonus disc with the Theatrical Version of the Pilot episode

Opening titles without narration

Textless Opening and Closing titles

All right, time to get back to work on reviews. We’ll get them up as fast as we can, time permitting. Stay tuned...

Afternoon, folks! We hope you all had a fine long holiday weekend. We’d like to send a special shout-out today to all those of you serving in the armed forces around the world, and to the families and friends of the same who have been wounded or made the ultimate sacrifice. Our hats off to you.

Now then, we’re kicking off the shortened week here at The Bits with a couple new Blu-ray reviews...

In release news today, Shout! Factory and Scream have just announced that they’re working on a new 2-disc Blu-ray Collector’s Edition release of John Carpenter’s The Thing. The release is expected sometime in September, and the announcement was made to celebrate Scream’s 4th Anniversary today. Well done, Scream!

Meanwhile, Paramount has set Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!! for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/12.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just set Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/30, followed by The Flash: The Complete Second Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 9/6. Each will include all 23 episodes, plus deleted scenes, gag reels, video of their respective Comic-Con 2015 panels, and multiple behind-the-scenes featurettes. Audio will be 5.1 DTS-HD MA on both Blu-ray versions. SRPs on each are $49.99 for the DVD version and $54.97 for the Blu-ray.

On a similar note, a number of you have asked about the possible Blu-ray and DVD release of some of Netflix’s and Amazon’s original genre series, like Daredevil, The Man in the High Castle, etc. It seems that both companies are content for now to continue distributing these titles as streaming exclusives. Hopefully, that may change down the line.

On the catalog front, Kino Lorber has announced that they’re working on new Blu-ray editions of Daisy Kenyon (1947), Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986), Bad Girl (1931), Western Union (1941), and The Battle of the Sexes (1960).

And MPI will release Tim Blake Nelson’s Anesthesia on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/21.

In other news related to 4K, Twice has an interesting story up on the “attach rates” for 4K TVs. The piece is actually about a month old, but we missed it when it first circulated. The point is that, at one retailer in LA at least (Video & Audio Center), over 50% of the consumers who are purchasing new 4K displays are also buying 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray players. That’s an attach rate higher than VAC has ever seen before for any format. It will be very interesting to see if a similar attach rate applies to consumers and retailers nationwide when the DEG and UHD Alliance begin to report such numbers in the months ahead. Anyway, you can read the piece here.

We’ll leave you today with a look at some of the Blu-ray titles we’ve mentioned above and more (click on the images to pre-order each on Amazon, if pre-orders are available)...

Universal and STX have now officially announced the first-person actioner Hardcore Henry for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/26, with a Digital HD release due on 7/12. As expected, both versions will deliver audio commentary with director/producer Ilya Naishuller and star/executive producer Sharlto Copley, video of a Fan Chat between Naishuller and Copley, and deleted scenes. You can see the final cover artwork below.

By the way, remember those Universal deep catalog BD titles that were recently released as Best Buy exclusives? The Burbs, Dream Team, The Great Outdoors, and The Money Pit? Look for them to be released widely on 8/16.

Warner Home Video has set DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete First Season for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 8/23. The Blu-ray will include all 16 episodes on 2-discs. Extras will include 4 featurettes (2015 Comic-Con Panel, Jonah Hex: Hex Marks the Spot, A Fantastic Voyage: Touring the Waverider Set, and History in the Making), and a gag reel.

Warner has also set The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Seventh Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/16. And the studio will release The Originals: The Complete Third Season on DVD on 9/20, with the Blu-ray version set for release that same day by the Warner Archive.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Miles Ahead on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital on 7/19.

In terms of catalog films, our friends over at Twilight Time have sent us the cover artwork for their June batch of titles (due on 6/14), which will include The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), Inserts (1975), The Member of the Wedding (1952), The Panic in Needle Park (1971), Rollerball (1975), and Romeo Is Bleeding (1993).

The Hound of the Baskervilles will include an isolated music and effects track, audio commentary with film historians David Del Valle and Steven Peros, a second audio commentary with film historians Paul Scrabo, Lee Pfeiffer, and Hank Reineke, 3 featurettes (Actor’s Notebook: Christopher Lee, Hound Mask Creator Margaret Robinson on The Hound of the Baskervilles, and Christopher Lee Reads Excerpts from The Hound of the Baskervilles), and the theatrical trailer. Inserts will include an isolated music and effects track and the theatrical trailer. The Member of the Wedding will include an isolated score track, audio commentary with singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega, and film historians Derek Botelho and David Del Valle, a second audio commentary with Carson McCullers’ biographer Virginia Spencer Carr, 2 featurettes (The World of Carson McCullers and The Journey from Stage to Film), an introduction by Karen Kramer, and the theatrical trailer. The Panic in Needle Park will include an isolated score track (featuring unused music composed and conducted by Ned Rorem), 3 featurettes (Panic in the Streets of New York, Writers in Needle Park, and Notes on Ned Rorem’s Unused Score), and the theatrical trailer. Rollerball (which is a re-issue BD) will include an isolated score track, audio commentary with director Norman Jewison, a second audio commentary with writer William Harrison, 2 featurettes (From Rome to Rollerball: The Full Circle and Return to the Arena: The Making of Rollerball), TV spots, and theatrical trailers. Finally, Romeo is Bleeding will include an isolated score track (with some effects) and the theatrical trailer.

Here’s a look at the Blu-ray cover artwork for all of them (click on the covers to visit the Twilight Time pre-order pages)...

Also today, Olive Films has announced its August slate of titles, all due on 8/16, which is set to include American Ninja (DVD/BD), American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (DVD/BD), American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt (DVD/BD), American Ninja 4: The Annihilation (DVD/BD), Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (DVD/BD), The Pride and The Passion (DVD/BD), Wild in the Streets (DVD/BD), Saved! (DVD/BD), and Not Without My Daughter (DVD only).

And finally this week, here’s the Blu-ray cover artwork for both versions of Disney’s Zootopia and Universal’s Hardcore Henry (with Amazon.com pre-order links)...

Now then, this is the start of the long Memorial Day Weekend here in the States, so we’re going to be off on Monday. But we’ll be back as usual on Tuesday with lots more news and BD/4K reviews. So have a great and safe holiday weekend with your family and friends and we’ll see you then!

In release news today, Captain America: Civil War is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com in Blu-ray 3D Combo, Blu-ray Combo, and DVD versions. There’s no street date listed yet, but that fact that Blu-ray 3D is confirmed is welcome indeed. Click the links provided to visit the respective Amazon pages.

Also, Magnolia has now set High Rise for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/2.

Did any of you check out Hardcore Henry in theaters? Universal has just set that film for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/26, featuring audio commentary with director/producer Ilya Naishuller, a second commentary with Naishuller and star/executive producer Sharlto Copley, deleted scenes, and a Fan Chat.

Universal has also set Term Life, starring Vince Vaughn and Hailee Steinfeld, for BD and DVD release on 7/5. The film was directed by Peter Billingsley of A Christmas Story fame.

Meanwhile, Acorn Films has set Jack Irish: Season 1 and Jack Irish: The Films for Blu-ray release on 7/26 as well.

Warner Home Video is releasing Person of Interest: The Complete Series on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/19.

Music Box Films has set Aleksandr Sokurov’s Francofonia for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/28. As some of you may know, Sokurov also directed the acclaimed Russian Ark.

Olive Films has set American Ninja, American Ninja 2: Confrontation, American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt, and American Ninja 4: The Annihilation for Blu-ray release on 8/16, along with Wild in the Streets.

And Interscope has set U2: iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE – Live in Paris for Blu-ray and DVD release on 6/10. You can see the cover art for some of these titles below.

In other news today that’s 4K-related, we’ve just learned that the first triple-layer Ultra HD Blu-ray titles are starting to appear in Japan. Among them are a pair of Rurouni Kenshin movies shipped by Panasonic as part of their new UHD player promotion (Kyoto Inferno and The Legend Ends). Here’s the back of one of the cases, showing the specs...

As you can see by the circled indication above, the disc is listed as triple-layer. This is probably a small batch test run, but it’s indicative of the fact that triple-layer discs are on the way, and the first such titles could arrive in the States by the end of this year or early next. What does that mean? Much longer films can be accommodated. Think Lawrence of Arabia long.

Now then… last Thursday afternoon, I had the good fortune to visit Formosa Group’s mixing facility in Santa Monica, to take in a demonstration of Dolby Atmos. As you can imagine, with so much attention being paid to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray of late, it’s only natural that a lot of Bits readers are asking us questions about the format’s new object-based audio formats. So I was pleased to have the chance to experience an Atmos home demonstration first-hand and to get a look at how Atmos mixes are created. Some of you may already have experienced Dolby Atmos in your local cineplex, but you’re likely wondering, how does that experience translate to the home? How does Atmos sound in a home theater or even a living room? Does it really make a difference? Is it noticeably better or different that the core Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixes already common to regular Blu-ray releases? Read on...

One of the first things people wonder about Atmos is: Is it really worth buying the extra speakers to take advantage of the format’s height channels? But here’s the thing – with the YSP-5600, you don’t have to. The sound bar is designed for small and medium-sized home theater installations. It’s literally all you need: It delivers 7.1.2 channels using a remarkable 44 speaker drivers, each pointed at different angles around the room within the sound bar.

Here’s some details from Yamaha’s own product page on the unit: “Beautifully designed with 44 precisely calculated and positioned beam drivers and two woofers, the YSP-5600 effectively creates 7-channel sound beams (front left/right, center, surround left/right, height left/right). Using Yamaha Digital Sound Projector technology, each speaker is controlled by individual delay times and is driven with its own independent amplifier circuit. These beams are projected onto the walls and ceiling, and reflected to the listening position.” I’m here to tell you, it works. I was blown away. If you’re a casual home theater enthusiast, or a budget-minded movie buff, and especially if you have a small to medium-sized home theater space, the YSP-5600 is perfect for you.

After this demonstration, we moved into one of Formosa’s large mixing stages, where veteran feature film re-recording mixer and sound editor Tim Hoogenakker demonstrated the process of creating a good Atmos mix for the home, using those same clips and a few others that he’d specifically mixed in Atmos just for this demonstration. It’s worth noting that Formosa has mixed about a third of all the Atmos BD and 4K titles currently available or announced, and Tim personally has done many of the forthcoming Sony 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Atmos mixes (including both Ghostbusters films and Labyrinth).

Walking us through each demo, Tim explained the benefits of Atmos, which essentially allows him to position sounds three-dimensionally around the home theater listening space and them move them around the room to simulate the way real-world objects move around you in reality. This effect, combined with the height channels, creates a much more natural and immersive soundscape for the listener. No longer are you simply listening to the usual 5.1 channels – you’re surrounded by a virtual 3D audio environment that pans and fills sound cues from speaker to speaker around you much more naturally. And again, the front part of the soundstage is bigger and smoother too. So the answer to the question “Does Atmos really make a difference?” is certainly yes, and in fact much more of a difference than you might anticipate.

Now, if you already have a good 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system, the cost of adding two more speakers (to take advantage of the height channels), and possibly upgrading your A/V receiver to be compatible with Atmos and DTS:X too, might be restrictive. Some of you may not have the ability to mount additional speakers higher on your front wall or on the ceiling. And some of you may have angled ceilings, which would make reflective speaker options ineffective. The good news is that there are options for you no matter what your situation. Indeed, if you can add additional speakers, so much the better. If you don’t already have surround sound at all, the all-in-one sound bar (like the YSP-5600) is a great option. And if you don’t have the room to mount additional speakers but still have 5.1 or 7.1, there are new front left and right tower speakers that have top-firing drivers to give you the height channels you need. In any case, if you’re a serious home theater enthusiast – serious enough to upgrade to a 4K display or projector and Ultra HD for its improved video – then you really do owe it to yourself to add next-generation sound capability to the experience as well at some point. It’s certainly not going to diminish your movie viewing experience in any way if you don’t, but it will definitely enhance that experience if you do.

I’d like to take a quick moment to thank Tim Hoogenakker and everyone at Formosa Group for their hospitality, as well as the folks from Dolby, and also our old friends Sue Procko and Ed Peters (of Sue Procko PR) for their time and efforts in arranging this demonstration. Rest assured, I’ll have more to say about Atmos in the weeks and months ahead.

All right, that’s all for today. Be sure to check back with us tomorrow here at The Bits, because we’ll have more release news and disc reviews for you, including my thoughts on Warner’s recently-announced Creed in 4K Ultra HD!

]]>billhunt@thedigitalbits.com (Bill Hunt)My Two CentsWed, 25 May 2016 13:06:03 -0700Sony sets House of Cards: Season Four for 7/5, plus Outatime, Daughter of Dawn, U2: Live in Paris & morehttp://thedigitalbits.com/columns/my-two-cents/050916_1600
http://thedigitalbits.com/columns/my-two-cents/050916_1600

All right, first things first today… I want to thank all those of you who have wished me well on Facebook, Twitter, and via e-mail over the weekend. You’ll be happy to know that my face survived its encounter with a falling picture frame (see Friday’s post here) and that, other than some bruising, soreness and swelling, my eye is a-okay. Every damn one of those 14 stitches is itching like crazy though. What can you do?

The big announcement news today is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just set House of Cards: The Complete Fourth Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/5, with the Digital HD release due 7/4. There’s no word on extras, if any.

This isn’t an announcement exactly, but it’s certainly exciting: Universal’s Q2 financial report from last year apparently included word that the studio has completed 4K restorations of Animal Crackers, Cocoanuts, Duck Soup, Horse Feathers, Monkey Business, My Man Godfrey, Shanghai Express, Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, House of Dracula, House of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, and The King of Jazz, the silent films Last Warning, Oh Doctor, and Outside the Law, as well as the only film directed by Marlon Brando, One Eyed Jacks. Hopefully, that means we might at least get new Marx Brothers and Universal Monsters Blu-ray sets at some point (the Marx films at least are being screened here and there around the country). You can read more here via the original post from our old friend Ron Epstein over at the Home Theater Forum(and thanks to Bits reader Gregory R. for the heads-up). We’re going to check with the studio to see if any of these recently restored classics will find their way to disc.

Meanwhile, Shout! Factory has set The Binding for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/2.

Warner Home Video has set Person of Interest: The Complete Fifth & Final Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/19. Warner has also set The 100: The Complete Third Season for Blu-ray and DVD release that same day. The latter will include all 16 episodes, plus 7 behind-the-scenes featurettes (A Short Lived Victory: Unlocking the Season 3 Finale, Arkadia: From Wreckage to Salvation, Ice Nation: Brutal and Fierce, Wanheda: Clarke’s Journey, Polis: Capital of the Grounders, The 100 Pre-Viz Stunts Season 3, and 2015 Comic-Con Panel), a gag reel, and deleted scenes. And Warner has set TBS’ Angie Tribeca: The Complete First Season for DVD only release on 5/17.

Universal and GKids will release Alê Abreu’s Brazilian animated feature Boy & the World on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/5.

Universal has also set My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 for Blu-ray and DVD release on 6/21, with a Digital HD release due 6/7. Extras will include a gag reel and 2 featurettes (My Big Fat Greek Dinner and Making the Greekquel).

Virgil Films has announced that they’ve picked up the Outatime: Saving the DeLorean Time Machine documentary and will release it on Blu-ray on 7/19. Extras will include deleted scenes, interviews, audio commentary and more.

Milestone Films and the Oklahoma Historical Society have set The Daughter of Dawn (1920) for release on 7/19 (you can watched it on Netflix now). This is an 83-minute silent film from 1920, that was recently restored and features more than 300 actual Native American actors (Kiowas and Comanches) playing Native American characters. You can read more here via NPR.

Kino Lorber has announced that Freeway (1988) is “coming soon” to Blu-ray and DVD, along with Trouble Man (1972). Meanwhile, Witchcraft (1964) has been set for Blu-ray release on 10/11.

Brink Vision has set the horror title Lake Nowhere for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/16.

And on the music front, it appears that U2: Live in Paris is coming to Blu-ray and DVD in June, at least in the UK. Amazon.co.uk briefly listed the title as due to street on 6/10 but then quickly pulled it down, having likely jumped the gun. One would expect that an official announcement is forthcoming from the band on their website. Thanks to Bits reader Tim H. for the heads-up.

We’ll leave you with a look at a little more new Blu-ray cover artwork, including a few of the titles listed above (click on the links to pre-order them on Amazon if available)...

In announcement news today, Shout! Factory has just announced a new Shout Selects line of premium Blu-ray special edition titles, the first of which is set to be The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension: Collector’s Edition and John Carpenter’s Elvis on 8/16. Those will be followed by the Midnight Run: Collector’s Edition on 8/23, and (before the end of 2016) Roadhouse and Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection. The latter will be a 3-disc BD set including Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, plus a bonus disc. The extras on The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai have yet to be announced (though they’ll include “a comprehensive retrospective featuring brand-new interviews with members of the cast and crew and more”), but here’s the cover artwork. You can click on it to pre-order the disc on Amazon.com.

Shout and Scream have also set their Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray for release on 8/2, along with Red Sonja: Queen of Plagues.

By the way, it appears that the street date for Shout’s forthcoming Nighthawks Blu-ray, which had been set for release on 7/19, is now being delayed until 10/18. The reason for the delay is that “new opportunities have arisen for bonus content,” which is fine by me. Anything that makes the release better is worth taking the extra time for. Thanks to all the Bits readers who e-mailed us with this news.

Meanwhile, Syfy and Universal have set The Magicians: Season One for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/19. Universal has also set the Studio Ghibli animated film Only Yesterday for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/5.

And Amazon is now taking pre-orders on the TBA Blu-ray release of Warner and DC’s Supergirl: The Complete First Season as well. See the cover artwork below.

Also today, Kino Lorber has revealed a number of new titles they’re working on for Blu-ray release in the months ahead, including Rawhide (1951) and The Mark of Zorro (1940) on 8/2, Modesty Blaise (1966) on 8/23, The Enemy Below (1957) on 9/20, Cabo Blanco (1980) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (1975) on 9/27, The Earth Dies Screaming (1964) and Chosen Survivors (1974) on 10/4, and Witchcraft (1964) on 10/11. Also revealed as “coming soon” to Blu-ray are Man on Fire (1987), Boy on a Dolphin (1957), The Laughing Policeman (1973), Wolf Lake (1980), and 100 Rifles (1969).

Synapse Films has set Michael Felsher’s Just Desserts: The Making of Creepshow – Special Edition for Blu-ray release on 7/12. We’re really looking forward to this one.

And here’s something outstanding: FilmRise Releasing and MVD Entertainment Group have just announced the DVD release of Jon Spira’s amazing Elstree 1976 documentary on 6/28! [Editor’s Note: Amazon shows a BD version too, but that appears to be distributed by FilmRise and not MVD.] The documentary looks at the lives of many of the people who played masked and/or secondary characters in the original Star Wars film (think Vader, Boba Fett, Greedo, Stormtroopers, background Rebel pilots), through new interviews with them. A limited theatrical run (in NY and LA) starts tomorrow. Meanwhile, here’s a look at the trailer...

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Finally today, a little bit of follow-up to yesterday’s column on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray: Samsung’s Ultra HD Blu-ray player, the UBD-K8500, has just officially been certified as Ultra HD Premium by the UHD Alliance. This makes the UBD-K8500 the very first Ultra HD player sold in the States to be so certified. As I said in my column yesterday: “Samsung’s UDB-K8500 is the most affordable, most capable, and most stable entry-level player for any new format I’ve seen yet. At a $399 entry-level price point, Samsung’s UDB-K8500 is a steal. And Samsung should be damn proud of it.” I stand by that, and so apparently does the UHD Alliance. You can order the player now here on Amazon.com (or by clicking on the picture below)...

All right, we’ll leave you with a look at more new Blu-ray cover artwork (with clickable Amazon.com pre-order links if available)...

The big news today is that Warner Home Video has just officially announced the long-awaited Blu-ray release of The Iron Giant: Signature Edition and The Iron Giant: Ultimate Collector’s Edition on 9/6 (SRP $14.97 and $74.99)! Both versions will include the Theatrical and Signature Editions of the film, the all-new The Giant’s Dream documentary on the making of the film, audio commentary on the theatrical cut by director Brad Bird, additional scenes including the alternate opening, mini-documentary segments, the Signature Edition trailer, a Brad Bird trailer, a Motion Gallery, and 3 additional featurettes (Teddy Newton: The X Factor, Duck and Cover Sequence, and The Voice of the Giant). Meanwhile, the Ultimate Collector’s Edition will also include both films on DVD (in addition to Blu-ray), a personal letter from Bird, a hardcover art book, collectible Mondo art cards, and a 4-inch plastic articulated Iron Giant statue. Here’s a look at the final cover artwork for the UCE box (click on the image to pre-order on Amazon.com – click here for the Signature Edition BD link)...

Meanwhile today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has finally confirmed the 4K Ultra HD release of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on 5/31, day and date with Blu-ray and DVD (note that the digital release is expected on 5/10). The DVD release will include 2 featurettes (Courtship, Class and Carnage: Meet The Cast and From Austen to Zombies: Adapting a Classic). To this, the Blu-ray and Digital versions will add deleted scenes, Mr. Collins Line-o-Rama, a Gag Reel, and 2 more featurettes (The Badass Bennet Sisters and Creating the Unmentionables). The 4K Ultra HD version will include HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, plus the Blu-ray version will all its extras. Here’s a look at the packaging (click to pre-order on Amazon, the 4K link will be added when it goes live)...

By the way, Sony has also set Outsiders: Season One for DVD only release on 5/24, followed by Never Back Down: No Surrender on DVD on 6/7.

In announcement news today, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Dimension Films have set Regression for Blu-ray, DVD and digital release on 5/10, featuring Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson. [Read on here…]

Lionsgate has The Confirmation coming to Blu-ray and DVD on 6/7, starring Clive Owen.

Here’s something cool: Universal has just set Airport: The Complete Collection for 4-disc Blu-ray release on 6/14, including Airport, Airport 1975, Airport ’77, and The Concorde: Airport ’79.

Universal has also set The Boy for Blu-ray and DVD release on 5/10, and they’re re-issuing The Bourne Trilogy on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/10 featuring just the Matt Damon films, as well as the Fast & Furious: 7-Movie Collection on both formats on 5/3.

Blue Underground has set a double feature of Circus of Fear and Five Golden Dragons for Blu-ray release on 6/28.

Kino Lorber is releasing the baseball documentary Fastball on Blu-ray on 6/28.

Meanwhile, Warner Archive has just released Michael Collins on Blu-ray, and on MOD DVD they’ve added the TV titles Medical Center: The Complete Sixth Season, The Centurions: Part Two, the Marion Davies classic film titles The Floradora Girl (1930), Not So Dumb (1930), and Peg o’ My Heart (1933), and the additional catalog titles A Fine Pair (1968), Brotherly Love (1970), and Melinda (1972).

Also, Olive Films is releasing Samuel Fuller’s Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street (1972), Cyril Endfield’s Try and Get Me (1950 – aka The Sound of Fury), and the recent Yury Bykov-directed Russian films The Major and The Fool, all on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/19.

Here’s a look at some more new Blu-ray Disc cover artwork, with Amazon.com pre-order links if available. As always, a portion of anything you order from Amazon (after clicking to them through any of our links) goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it...

Now then... the big news today is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for Blu-ray and DVD release on 5/31.

Sony has also officially announced Creative Control for Blu-ray and DVD release on 5/10, with a digital release on 4/12. Both will include deleted scenes, a Reggie Watts music video, and the Phalinex and Augmenta commercials.

Universal has announced a Ted vs. Flash Gordon: The Ultimate Collection for 3-disc Blu-ray release on 5/3. No kidding, it includes Ted, Ted 2, and Flash Gordon. Tip of the hat to Uni for a clever gimmick, I suppose.

Universal has set Jarhead 3: The Siege for Blu-ray and DVD on 6/7.

Paramount has set 45 Years for DVD and digital release on 6/14.

Back to Twilight Time for a moment, the company has just announced their April slate (due to street on 4/12 – pre-orders open on 3/30 at 4 PM Pacific – SRP $29.95 each), which is set to include Michael Winner’s Chato’s Land (1972), Ivan Passer’s Cutter’s Way (1981), Robert Parrish’s In the French Style (1963), Fred Zinnemann’s Julia (1977), Jack Higgins’ A Prayer for the Dying (1987), and Michael Cimino’s Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974).

Funimation has set Dark Matter: The Complete Series for Blu-ray release on 6/14 as well. You can see the cover artwork below.

IFC Films has set Every Thing Will Be Fine for Blu-ray and DVD release on 6/7.

Anchor Bay, BBC Wales and The Weinstein Company will release the new War & Peace miniseries for 2-disc Blu-ray and DVD release on 5/10. The series stars Paul Dano, Lily James, and James Norton.

Here’s something interesting: Random Media and Alchemy are about to release a filmed called The Last Treasure Hunt on all the various digital platforms. It’s a completely indie film, directed by Patrick Biesemans and written by Kate Murdoch and Casey Nelson. It’s described as “a funny and touching tale of siblinghood, capturing the struggle and the joy of family and painting an unforgettable picture of love, loss, and forgiveness.” We don’t generally review digital only films, but what I like about this is that it’s a good way for new filmmakers to get their films seen. And based on the trailer, it’s a interesting film. You never know: If it’s successful, they could end up finding their way to physical media as well. Here’s a link to the official website for the film for all the details (including the trailer). Do check it out.

Also, Cinelicious Pics has announced that they’re re-releasing a 4K digital restoration of the lost 1960 film noir title Private Property, starring Warren Oates. It will premiere at the 7th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival (4/28-5/1) in Hollywood and will be distributed digitally and on Blu-ray this summer.

Finally today, Bits reader Ted V. pointed out last week that when Criterion announced their June Blu-ray and DVD slate, they got the artwork wrong on Dr. Strangelove – rather than having a B-52 bomber dropping the title “bomb” they’d used a KC-135 tanker instead. Well, they’ve now fixed it. You can see the new final cover artwork below.

We’ll leave you with a look at some new Blu-ray cover artwork (with clickable Amazon.com pre-order links if available)...

I’m trying to remember when I put it all together, when it dawned on me that there were these wonderful movies, shown, at the time, when there were only three local stations and local guys programmed the movies, after the last late show. They were cheap, even I could see that, but there was just something about these black and whites that kept me fascinated and many a long night I would suffer through local commercials just to see either justice done or perverted.

And the titles – Private Hell 36, Shack Out on 101, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands and Five Against the House. And the actors, has-beens and wanna-bes, but they were just terrific. Tom Neal and Ann Savage and Dennis O’Keefe and Preston Foster and Lawrence Tierney. And this was the “B” list. [Read on here...]

Earlier you might catch Out of the Past or Ace in the Hole or In a Lonely Place or Criss Cross, those with legendary actors and directors out of the studio system – Burt Lancaster and Billy Wilder and Robert Siodmak or Robert Mitchum or even Stanley Kubrick or John Huston with Marie Windsor and Elisha Cook.

Then they were updated – Body Heat and Farwell My Lovely and The Grifters and The Kill Off.

And that music – Miklos Rosza and David Raskin and Bernard Hermann. I think we’re going to talk about film music in a future column.

I’m sure I had no idea what “film noir” was until I found what was then and is now a seminal book on the subject “The Film Noir Encyclopedia” by Alain Silver, Elizabeth Ward, James Ursini and Robert Porfino. And I wore out one copy and bought another. And devoured other books and websites and CDs and DVDs and pawed through Netflix like Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep.

Then came Eddie Muller. I’ve never met this man, but I will. But James Ellroy did – the high priest of noir fiction called Muller the “czar of noir.”

In fact, I first came to Muller through his novels – his novels “The Distance” and “Shadow Boxer” were fantastic, but then he commissioned the Film Noir Foundation and, through his tireless work, these movies, these treasures were unmasked, uncovered and brought into the mainstream. “B” movies were given the “A” list treatment and studios got out their shovels and pickaxes and went through their caves in Kansas and started releasing these pictures en masse to a starving audience, many times with Muller himself on the audio commentary.

Look for him on such DVDs as Born to Kill, Fallen Angel, The Lineup, (with Ellroy) and my particular favorite Crime Wave, an original poster of which is over my bed.

So then comes Muller’s Film Noir Foundation which is “Dedicated to Rescuing and Restoring America’s Noir Heritage,” which they have accomplished in (Sam) spades. Here are some of the movies they’ve saved – Cry Danger (1951), with Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming, Hide Tide, (1947) with the great Lee Tracy and the gem of all gems – The Prowler, directed by Joseph Losey, that commie, and starring my Oklahoma homeboy Van Heflin, which has been called “the creepiest of all film noirs,” by The Village Voice.

Good work boys.

You can become a member of the Film Noir Association for not much money, which is actually a donation. You get a fabulous magazine and informative emails. And you get invited to film festivals – the mother ship of all noir festivals is annually in San Francisco, but this year they will be held in Hollywood April 15-24 and, close to this cowboy, in Austin May 20-22.

New Classics on Disc

As I mentioned earlier, studios and digital releasing entities are harvesting their libraries to bring film noir out into the light.

Kino Lorber has done a magnificent job of unearthing terrific titles – I need go no farther than their recent releases of Pitfall, a 1948 study in debauchery with, again, Dick Powell, directed by Andre De Toth; film noir stalwart John Payne (how great was he?) in The Crooked Way, 1949, with cinematography by genius shooter John Alton, Robert Wise’s The Captive City and Alan Rudolph’s neo noir Love at Large, with a terrific Tom Berenger.

Twilight Time has not shied away from noir – soon they will offer, for the second time, Fritz Lang’s seminal The Big Heat, with Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin. It gets no better than this. The group, which only creates 3,000 titles, also struck noir pay dirt with Violent Saturday, a 3-D disc of Man in the Dark, Otto Preminger’s Bunny Lake is Missing and Dana Andrews in Where the Sidewalk Ends, as well as a glorious transformation of Leave Her to Heaven. There are also modern day noirs such as The Driver, Hard Times, U-Turn and Wild at Heart.

Warner Archive even has its own “Warner Noir” imprint and, as the carrier has the RKO studio titles, where noir reigned supreme, you can order, at any time such titles as The Fall Guy, Loophole, This Woman is Dangerous and Tomorrow is Another Day.

Criterion has gifted us mere mortals with about one noir a month and they’re doozies – titles already on the marketplace such as Kiss Me Deadly and the recently released Gilda are fabulous but it’s the little gems such as Robert Montgomery’s Ride the Pink House and Don Siegel’s Riot in Cell Block 11, that really trip my trigger. Visit Criterion.com.

Flicker Alley currently has available Woman on the Run and Too Late for Tears, both restored through efforts of the Film Noir Foundation. Order these two today at flickeralley.com

I still can’t believe some of these treasures that are available to come right to my mailbox – check these out.

Again, Kino Lorber is right on point with some fantastic new features, many on home video for the first time.

First there’s a new restoration in 3-D of the cult classic Gog, a man vs. machine debate from 1954 starring Richard Egan; there’s also the wonderful classic Donavan’s Brain with Lew Ayres; Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis in their pre-Spartacus appearance, directed by the great Richard Fleischer; When Eight Bells Toll, a wonderful action film based on the Alistair McLean novel; The Rosary Murders, starring Donald Sutherland with a script by Elmore Leonard and Cop, a dark and deep character study starring James Woods and based on the novel by James Ellroy. There are also two rather legendary comedies as well, Jack Lemmon and Barbara Harris in The War Between the Men and the Women, based, in part, on the writings of Thurber and a true classic, Peter Sellers in After the Fox.

Also from Kino Lorber – Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacClaine in Robert Wise’s Two for the Seesaw; Tony Richardson’s film of the John Irving novel The Hotel New Hampshire and Ken Russell’s Valentino.

But the gem of all from Kino Lorber is The Challenge, starring Scott Glenn and Tishiro Mifune, directed by John Frankenheimer from 1982.

Those of us who were die hard Frankenheimer fans had to take him where we could get him. While French Connection II and Black Sunday were both terrific, there was a little monster picture called Prophecy that only played drive ins. The Challenge started a comeback of sorts from Frankenheimer, one of several he would have over his career, and it’s a terrific martial arts film.

If The Challenge was ever available in any form on home video, I don’t remember it, but it most certainly has been lost for a long time. I can’t wait to see it again.

Twilight Time is so cogent and ever present that there is a defined segment of the population whose breath baits. Here’s a few recent releases. Remember, these are all beautifully restored Blu-rays and are created in batches of 3,000. TwilightTimeMovies.com is where you find them.

Shadows and Fog is my favorite of the minor Woody Allen movies – it barely got released in 1991 and, for real, that’s another movie poster up in my empire somewhere. It’s a send up of German Expressionist filmmaking with Woody as his classic character caught up in a Kafka-esque nightmare. Woody fans should be snapping this up.

The Detective almost made my previous film noir list, and it probably is. Sinatra is just perfect in a role similar to what he would play in his last three movies. The Detective is a sordid piece of business, somewhat shocking, I think, in the late sixties, but it’s glorious in this Twilight Time version.

I’m a tad partial to Bound for Glory, as much of it takes place here in Oklahoma. Why this movie is so lost I’ll never know – it’s the story of Woody Guthrie, who, I say with disgust, is not in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame as he was a gol-danged Commie. David Carradine plays Guthrie and the picture is one of those 70s miracles directed by Hal Ashby. It’s a great trivia question in that it was nominated for Best Picture in 1976 against Taxi Driver and All the President’s Men and Network and, the eventual winner Rocky.

That Burt Lancaster continued to be a leading a man until he died was a great gift to movie goers and Scorpio might have been a throwaway picture had he not been the lead – but with him, it’s a terrific spy movie and what’s amazing is to watch him, as a senior citizen still do these wonderful stunts..he was an amazing movie star.

Other Twilight Time titles include: Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in From the Terrace, Richard Brooks’ underrated The Happy Ending and both Hawaii and The Hawaiians.

Olive Films has released one of the most bizarre films ever made, in glorious Blu-ray. Roar took eleven years to make and ended up with a $17 million price tag and it’s just awful, but it’s the kind of awful from which you’ll not be bored.

With a cast led by Tippi Hedren and her daughter, Melanie Griffith and directed by Noel Marshall, Hedren’s husband at the time, the picture takes realism to the next level. Lions are real and everywhere, sleeping, sprawling, attacking, eating and everything else. This is a movie that truly every movie lover should own. It’s available at olivefilms.com.

Also at the site you can check out new Blu-rays such as Jinxed, another Roar-like experience with Bette Midler, directed by Don Siegel; Speechless, a highly underrated political romantic comedy with Michael Keaton and Geena Davis; and Dark Blue, a terrific cop movie with an original screenplay by James Ellroy.

Warner Archive, of course, is the granddaddy of them all and, with their recent Blu-ray releases, have really brought some classics to market, including Henry Fonda in Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man, Bogart in Passage to Marseille and the great Albert Finney in Wolfen.

Other treasures in WA’s recent releases include pictures with Wayne Morris, George Brent and one of the true noir westerns Roughshod, with Robert Sterling and Gloria Grahame.

Star Vista has recently released more episodes of, yes Hee Haw, however, before you pass judgment, this is one of the most popular series in the history of television and, should the jokes not be to your taste, sit back and listen to the music from George and Tammy and Johnny Cash and Dolly and Waylon Jennings. These treasures are available at timelife.com.

Also, keeping with classic television, the Shout! Factory has released the final season of Hill Street Blues.

The officers and detectives of the toughest precinct on television work their final shift in the seventh and last season of Hill Street Blues. Steven Bochco’s groundbreaking masterpiece of television drama concludes its examination of the lives of the men and women who protect and serve the citizens of a volatile city in these twenty-two episodes, once again delivering the high quality writing, acting, and direction fans have come to expect from this universally acclaimed program.

The unmatched ensemble cast – including Daniel J. Travanti, Veronica Hamel, Bruce Weitz, Betty Thomas, Charles Haid, Joe Spano, James B. Sikking, Taurean Blaque, and Dennis Franz – are in top form for this climactic season, from its powerful opening to its fiery conclusion.

That’s a lot of movies. And I promise we’ll catch you at the flix again soon.

Also today, Scream Factory has officially set their Murders in the Rue Morgue/The Dunwich Horror Blu-ray double feature for release on 3/29. Extras will include audio commentary with author and film historian Steve Haberman on each film, the Stage Tricks & Screen Frights featurette (on Murders in the Rue Morgue), and the theatrical trailer for each film.

Meanwhile, our friends over at Twilight Time have officially revealed their May and June Blu-ray slates, which are set to include...

May – I Could Go on Singing (1963), Eureka (1983), Garden of Evil (1954), Cat Ballou (1965), and Appassionata (1975) all on 5/10.

June – Romeo Is Bleeding (1993), Inserts (1975), The House of the Baskervilles (1959), The Member of the Wedding (1952), The Panic in Needle Park (1971), and the Rollerball: Encore Edition (1975) all on 6/14.

By the way, in case you missed it, Twilight’s April slate will include A Prayer for the Dying (1987), Cutter’s Way (1981), Chato’s Land (1971), In the French Style (1963), Julia (1977), and the Thunderbolt and Lightfoot: Encore Edition (1974) all on 4/12.

We have a quick update on the BFI’s new restoration and Blu-ray of Napoleon (1927). It seems that Francis Ford Coppola and former Bits contributor and film preservationist Robert A. Harris own the worldwide theatrical rights to Napoleon outside the U.K. and France, and are working on their own restoration effort. Lou Lumenick, the film editor for The New York Post, contacted Harris about the project and received this reply: [Read on here…]

“The two are not connected. We donated the UK rights to the BFI and Photoplay (Kevin Brownlow and Patrick Stansbury) back in the early days of the project, in recognition of the work they had done over the years.

Zoetrope/Film Preserve [Coppola and Harris’ companies] own all world rights with the exception of the UK and France, which was donated to the Cinematheque by Claude Lelouch.

A few years ago, the Cinematheque did an inventory of Napoleon elements, many unseen since 1971, and discovered portions of the original camera negative, as well as other missing elements.

While we applaud the BFI’s latest efforts, we have been working with the Cinematheque toward the preparation of a more cohesive, and higher quality presentation, based upon Abel’s Apollo version of the film.

We anticipate to be complete in 2017.”

So it seems certain that the BFI’s Blu-ray, due to be released later this year, will be a Region B locked title, however the better Coppola/Harris restoration will be completed next year and should be released on Blu-ray then, both here in the States and elsewhere around the world. Thanks to the good Dr. Jahnke for bringing this to my attention.

Speaking of Coppola, I wanted to comment on the recent HBO broadcast of The Godfather Saga uncut and in HD. Industry sources tell me that it’s unlikely this version of the combined The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II will be released on disc. Director Francis Ford Coppola apparently just doesn’t want it to happen. So if you want it, the HBO broadcast may be your best chance to record it for long-term keeping. It’s not impossible there could be a home video release at some point, but I’m told it’s pretty unlikely to happen anytime soon.

In announcement news today, Twilight Time has revealed they’re working on the Blu-ray release of Richard Fleischer’s 10 Rillington Place (1971) from a new 4K Sony Pictures restoration. Look for that on 3/15. Also coming that day are Anatole Litvak’s Anastasia (1956), Robert Rossen’s Alexander the Great (1956), Otto Preminger’s Exodus (1960), and Ralph Nelson’s Lilies of the Field (1963).

Meanwhile, Kino Lorber has set the MGM animated Tijuana Toads (1969-1972 – 17 cartoons) and Roland and Rattfink (1968-1971 – 17 cartoons) for Blu-ray and DVD release on 6/28. They’ve also revealed that they’re working on Blu-ray and DVD releases of Beware! The Blob (1972 – aka Son of the Blob), Fuzz (1972), and Absolution (1978).

And in a bit of 4K UHD Blu-ray news this afternoon, Amazon.ca is showing a UHD combo release of Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 on the format on 3/17, day and date with regular the Blu-ray and DVD. It’s not officially announced yet, however, nor is it up on Amazon.com. We expect that to change soon.

Also, Sony has confirmed that they’re releasing The 5th Wave in 4K UHD in addition to Blu-ray, DVD, and digital. Street date is TBA for all.

In announcement news today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set an Outlander: Season One – The Ultimate Collection box set for release on Blu-ray on 11/3 (SRP $164.99 but Amazon has it for $105), though I have a feeling it’s going to irritate fans who already purchased Season One Volumes 1 & 2 on Blu-ray. The set will include “a book, keepsake box, engraved flask, and collection of photographs in addition to the Season One Soundtrack and a bonus disc with special features including a 45-minute Outlander Yule log.” So... I guess some of you guys are probably wishing you’d waited to buy any version of this on disc right now. Here’s what it looks like...

Sony has also announced Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser for Blu-ray and DVD release on 1/12, including an extended edition of the film. They’ve set Wolf Totem for Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and digital release on 12/15. And if Amazon is to be believed, Sony will release its CG-animated Hotel Transylvania 2 on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/12 as well.

Lionsgate will release Army Dog, Power Rangers Dino Charge: Unleashed, and Duck Dynasty: Wedding Special on DVD only on 1/12.

Dark Sky Films has set One Eyed Girl for release on Blu-ray, DVD and digital on 12/8 (SRP $29.98 and $24.98 for the disc versions).

Warner Home Video has confirmed that it’s releasing a number of catalog titles on Blu-ray in December, including the newly-remastered National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Paramount’s Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (all on 12/1), Project Almanac (12/22), and MGM’s Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (12/29).

Alchemy will release the cop thriller Operator on Blu-ray, DVD and digital on 11/3.

Kino Lorber has revealed that they’re working on a Blu-ray release of Sam Wanamaker’s The File of the Golden Goose (1969). Street date is TBA.

Scorpion Releasing is getting ready to release Paolo Cavara’s The Wild Eye (1967). They’re also preparing to release Stanley Donen’s Movie Movie on Blu-ray on 2/23/16. That last title has long been one of Jahnke’s Most Wanted Picks.

In other release news today, Cinedigm has set The Look of Silence for Blu-ray release on 1/12.

Olive Films has set It Runs in the Family for Blu-ray release on 11/24.

And John Grissmer’s Blood Rage: 2-Disc Special Edition is coming to Blu-ray on 11/24 from Arrow Video.

Dark Sky Films has set One Eyed Girl for Blu-ray and DVD release on 12/8 as well.

Kino Lorber has announced that they’re working on new Blu-ray releases of Victor Nunez’s Ulee’s Gold (1997) and Robert Montgomery’s The Gallant Hours (1960). They’ve also just set Joseph Ruben’s Gorp (1980) for Blu-ray and DVD release on 2/2.

Pre-orders are now open for Twilight Time’s November 10 slate of Blu-ray titles, including Broken Lance, Fatherland (aka Singing the Blues in Red), Scorpio, Sense and Sensibility, and Shadows and Fog. Be sure to visit their website here to order.

And, Magnolia Home Entertainment and Magnet are releasing Tiger House on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/3.

Meanwhile today, Scream Factory has set Sonny Boy (1989) for Blu-ray release on 1/26/16. They also have a double feature Blu-ray of The House Where Evil Dwells (1982) and Ghost Warrior (1984 – a.k.a. Swordkill) due on 1/5/16.

Shout! Factory has set Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXXIV for DVD only release on 12/1 featuring The Undead, Viking Women vs. The Sea Serpent, War of the Colossal Beast, and The She-Creature.

Twilight Time has set Scorpio (1973), Shadows and Fog (1991), Broken Lance (1954), Sense and Sensibility (1995), and Fatherland (1986 – a.k.a. Singing the Blues in Red) for Blu-ray release on 11/10. Pre-order date is 10/28 at 4 PM Pacific. You can see the cover art for Scorpio above.

Kino Lorber has revealed that they’re working on new Blu-ray and DVD releases of Sidney Pink’s Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962), John Frankenheimer’s The Holcroft Covenant (1985), Ray Miland’s Panic in Year Zero! (1962), Felix Feist’s Donovan’s Brain (1953), and Reginald Le Borg’s The Black Sleep (1956), all created from new HD masters. They’ve also set John Ford’s The Hurricane (1937) for Blu-ray and DVD release on 11/24.

And FUNimation has revealed that Evangelion 3.33 is due to arrive on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/2/2016.

In announcement news, Anchor Bay and RADiUS have set Chris Evans’ Before We Go for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/3.

Magnolia Home Entertainment has set Tiger House for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/3, followed by Tangerine on 11/11.

Scream Factory has officially detailed its 11/17 Blu-ray/DVD Combo release of Troll/Troll 2, which is set to include the new The Making of Troll documentary featurette, a new audio commentary with actors George Hardy and Deborah Reed (on Troll 2), the theatrical trailers for both films, and a still gallery on Troll.

The Cohen Film Collection has set the Benoit Jacquot Collection for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/20, including The Disenchanted, A Single Girl, and Keep It Quiet.

XLrator Media has set The Diabolical for Blu-ray and DVD release on 11/3.

Big World Pictures is releasing a newly HD-restored version of Tsai Ming-Liang’s Rebels of the Neon God (1992) on 10/27… but unfortunately on DVD only.

And Entertainment One has just announced that each of the final 13 episodes of Syfy’s Haven TV series will be available digitally (via multiple digital outlets) the day after its cable premiere.

Finally today, Universal just released the trailer for the Coen Brothers’ new big screen comedy, Hail, Caesar!, which is coming in 2016. You can watch that here below. Looks pretty great to me…

We’re kicking things off today with another new Blu-ray review. This one is a little unusual and should be more than a little interesting for Star Trek fans: It’s my look at Prelude to Axanar on Blu-ray, the 2014 proof-of-concept short film directed by Christian Gossett and produced by Alec Peters that launched the effort to produce the full Axanar feature film (to be directed by Robert Meyer Burnett and co-written by yours truly). Prelude to Axanar is now available on Blu-ray but ONLY as a perk for contributing $35 to the Axanar IndieGoGo campaign. You won’t find it in stores. But if you love Star Trek on Blu-ray, it’s definitely a title you’re going to want to add to your collections. Be sure to read the review to learn more about it. [Read on here…]

In announcement news today, Lionsgate has set Hannibal: Season Three for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/8 (SRP $24.99 and $24.98 respectively). Extras on these discs (produced by our friend Cliff Stephenson) will include audio commentaries with the cast and crew, 5 featurettes (Getting the Old Scent Again: Reimagining Red Dragon, Beyond the Mind Palace, Hannibal on the Run, Avid Fannibals, and Hannibal: Season 3: Killer Intentions), the Post Mortem with Scott Thompson webisodes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.

Note that Lionsgate will also release Shaun the Sheep on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/24.

Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set Ricki and the Flash for Blu-ray, DVD and digital release on 11/24. The film stars Meryl Streep and Rick Springfield. Extras on the Blu-ray will include 2 featurettes (Getting Ready for Ricki: The Making of Ricki and the Flash and Rediscovering Rick Springfield), deleted scenes, and a cast photo gallery.

On the catalog front, Kino International has set Twice-Told Tales (1963), Queen of Blood (1966), Welcome to L.A. (1976), Love at Large (1990), Robbers’ Roost (1955), Fort Massacre (1958), and Gunfight at Dodge City (1959) for Blu-ray release on 12/1, followed by F/X2 (1991), Salaam Bombay (1988), Tabu (1931), Siege of Firebase Gloria (1989), The Fourth War (1990), Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976), The Kindergarten Teacher (2014), Crooked Way (1949), and Delta Force 2 (1990) on Blu-ray on 12/8. Also coming are Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955), Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967), Figures in a Landscape (1969), Valentino (1977), and Hotel New Hampshire (1984) on Blu-ray on 1/5/2015, Two For the Seesaw (1962), The Captive City (1952), The Knack... and How to Get It (1965), The Bed Sitting Room (1969), and How I Won the War (1967) on 1/12, Highway to Hell (1992), Up the Creek (1984), I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), and Delirious (1991) on 2/2, The Challenge (1982), Curse of the Faceless Man (1958), Beachhead (1954), and Ambush Bay (1966) on 2/15, and Gog 3-D (1954), Cop (1988), and The Rosary Murders (1987) on 3/1. Also coming (street date TBD) are After the Fox (1966), The Black Sleep (1956), and Donovan’s Brain (1953).

Also, don’t forget: Five new Twilight Time Blu-ray titles are going up for Blu-ray pre-order on the Twilight site this Wednesday (9/30) at 4 PM Eastern. They include Count Yorga, Vampire (1970 – includes an isolated score track, audio commentary with film historians David Del Valle and Tim Sullivan, 2 featurettes (My Dinner with Yorga: The Robert Quarry Rue Morgue Interview and Fangirl Radio Tribute to Robert Quarry), 2 still galleries (The MGM Archives and The Tim Sullivan Archives), and the original theatrical trailer), Black Widow (1987 – includes an isolated score track, audio commentary with film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman, TV spots, and the original theatrical trailer), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995 – includes an isolated score track, audio commentary with writer/director Carl Franklin, Don Cheadle’s screen test, and the original theatrical trailer), Strange Invaders (1983 – includes an isolated score track, audio commentary with director Michael Laughlin and writer William Condon, and the original theatrical trailer), and Scream and Scream Again (1970 – includes an isolated score track, audio commentary with film historians David Del Valle and Tim Sullivan, 2 featurettes (Gentleman Gothic: Gordon Hessler at AIP and An Interview with Uta Levka), a still gallery, a radio spot, and the original theatrical trailer). Here’s a look at the cover artwork (with pre-order links to the Twilight website)...

And in other news, Sony Music and Sony Classical have just announced that they’re re-issuing all 6 of John William’s classic Star Wars film soundtracks on vinyl box set (SRP $229.98), CD/DVD box set ($74.98), and lossless digital download (192kHz/24bit – no lossless download link is yet available, but we suspect HD Tracks and Pono Music will have it available). There’s also a “Mastered for iTunes” version available on iTunes for $49.99. Worldwide street date for all is 1/8/2016. Here’s a look at the vinyl and CD versions (with Amazon pre-order links)...

Here’s a look at a little more new Blu-ray cover artwork, with Amazon.com pre-order links if available...

I had to sit on maybe the biggest movie story in America. For a long time. And now that it’s been completed and is over, I’m shocked that the whole thing hasn’t been on the front page of The New York Times.

I’ve perhaps casually mentioned that I helped create (didn’t get in the way of) a film school here in Oklahoma City, actually at Oklahoma City Community College. The idea was, unlike film degrees that are based on watching and studying themes and points of view and reading scripts, the creative side, so to speak, to offer a technical, hands on degree program, why a community college was selected in the first place. And to enhance the experience, we got the finest equipment in the world – Avid editors and cameras and lenses and lights and then, through a lot of hard work from a lot of good people, here came the ultimate – a full end studio, built to the specs of an actual Hollywood soundstage. If another state funded school has a facility like this, I’d like to see it. [Read on here...]

This all works because we recruited back to Oklahoma a Hollywood legend to bring his experience, contacts and hubris to run the whole thing. Gray Frederickson was screwing around in Italy in the mid to late 60s and stumbled onto the set of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, an Italian production for sure, but a top of the line shoot, in that it would have a huge worldwide release in that it was the highly anticipated third film in the “Man With No Name” trilogy starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone. Gray made connections and soon he was that American who would help Italian crews shoot their way across the United States. He worked with Italian screen legends Ugo Tognazzi, Vittoria De Sica and Alberto Sordi.

Then he came to Hollywood and through a series of circumstances, which we should probably should discuss someday ended up partnering with Al Ruddy, who had already by the early 70s, made his name by creating and producing the hit sitcom Hogan’s Heroes to produce The Godfather.

Thus followed with Gray and long and fruitful partnership with Francis Coppola that resulted in The Godfather, Part II, Apocalypse Now, One from the Heart and The Godfather, Part III. Oscars followed in their wake.

You know Coppola, right? He’s the Big Cheese of American filmmaking who led a revolution in the 70s like no other impresario since Orson Welles and spawned a family of movie making talent which continues to impress – his daughter Sofia is an Oscar winning screenwriter and his nephew Nicolas Cage is an Oscar winning actor; his sister, Talia is an Oscar nominated actress and his son Roman is an Oscar nominated screenwriter and his nephew Jason Schwartzman is an essential character actor.

Get this – Coppola’s last studio feature was his adaptation of the John Grisham novel The Rainmaker in 1996. Wow. Since that time, Coppola has written and directed several independent productions released, honestly, to indifference.

While both Gray and Francis stayed in touch, checked on each other’s children and family, as Francis wasn’t actually making films any more, there was small hope of them ever working again.

A budget shortfall at OCCC raised the need for a fundraiser and the pressure was on Gray to create an event that would raise significant coin. Gray is not an asker – I get it because I’m not one either – but he took as gulp and asked Francis, notorious for turning down even the most influential and popular film festivals and Hollywood events, to fly on his own dime to Oklahoma City and spend a day with students and donors and even go onstage and do a Q&A.

Don’t forget that Coppola is a now a major business executive, the Coppola Winery is no vanity project, it is a major corporation and Coppola is a hands on CEO.

However, come he did – to a packed house. The evening was blissful and informative and a dream for movie buffs. Coppola himself seemed to have a good time. And, actually, it turns out, he was doing a little scheming as well.

And thus the secret.

I don’t know whether Coppola’s newest idea was generated because of his visit to the unreal facilities at OCCC or he had thought it through and had yet to find a place to see it realized.

So, in early June, under the cover of darkness, Francis Coppola moved to Oklahoma City. It should be mentioned that the director and the Sooner State had met before – because of Gray, Coppola had optioned The Outsiders and had filmed it in its original setting of Tulsa and, so taken with the area, Coppola used the city again for Rumble Fish.

Of there were rumblings in Oklahoma City – this person spotted him in a theater or that in one of the college buildings however, I had been told to keep my yap shut and so I did.

Then, local casting companies started sending out parts for a super-secret project at OCCC and the rumor mill went into overtime. But again, these lips were locked.

Finally, after a month, Coppola announced he completed his opus – an experiment in live cinema – a movie performance piece created in real time. Coppola utilized modern filmmaking techniques and the most advanced video technology to create a cohesive dramatic production filmed live. To make it happen, the project included over 70 film students enrolled in a special course, in order to earn college credit. They served as camera operators, grips, sound, costumes, props, video, acting, stage management and producing.

Distant Vision, the name of the production was written, directed and produced by Coppola, is the story of three generations of the Corrado family whose history spans the development of television.

A very surprised audience was invited to the premiere of the film at a local Oklahoma City.

Coppola was very pleased with the outcome.

“Our experimental workshop has been a vital part of my own understanding of live cinema. The faculty and students here have been tremendously valuable and supportive, and working in Oklahoma is always fruitful and a pleasure. I look forward to conducting larger-scale workshops in the future and developing plans for a full production several years from now,” Coppola said.

But there’s a little more. While social opportunities with Mr. Coppola were nonexistent, a few days before starting the project, Gray made sure the three of us went to dinner. It was as glorious as one would think.

We talked about a lot – Abel Glance, Paul Fischer’s new book called “A Kim Jong Il Production,” a true story about the Korean dictator’s attempt to make good movies from his country, achieved by kidnapping South Korea’s greatest actress and director, John Milius, who is recovering from a devastating stroke and, my dream conversation regarding a film he produced in the 80s called Hammett which was director Win Winders’ American debut about the legendary crime writer – the script was written by native Oklahoman Ross Thomas, who also has a cameo. There have been stories for years that Coppola had to step in and direct what would be the finished product and there major problems during shooting.

I won’t spoil confidences, but I got my answer.

I’ll report when the next component of this project comes to fruition.

By the way, “A Kim Jong Il Production” is a stunning read. Another that I’ll mention, totally off subject, is another fascinating biography “Jerry Lee Lewis – His Own Story,” by Rick Bragg, a very influential Southern writer, that is a, ok, a killer. I actually got to talk to the Killer himself at a recent concert stop and told him I’d spread the word. Consider it done.

New on Blu-ray & DVD

It’s been a while, so I’ve got some new releases to discuss.

The Magician is out on Blu-ray from the Cohen Media Group. It is directed by Chuck Workman, who produces those short, clip rich, videos at the Academy Awards every year, has never before seen clips, rich interviews and a stunning overview of Orson Welles. The clips alone from Welles’ unfinished films like Don Quixote and The Deep and his theatrical productions are worth watching the film but it is so insightful and so reverent that I highly suggest you buy The Magician today.

Also out from Cohen is the dark, deep Academy Award nominated Timbuktu.

Twilight Time continues to make home video history by finding these incredibly rare titles and giving them a loving restoration. Then, smart guys that they are, they limit these titles to 3,000 or, for some popular titles, 5,000.

Here are some of the new releases:

Love and Death – Can you believe Woody Allen made both this and Sleeper back to back and, while Sleeper was first and nearest to my heart, this is the movie that pushed Woody straight into Annie Hall. I actually, to this day, can’t get through it without collapsing – one of the funniest movies ever made and brilliantly restored by Twilight Time.

Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy – This was the beginning of Woody Allen’s 80s period that included Mia Farrow in almost every picture – this decade brought Zelig and Broadway Danny Rose. This is minor Woody but beautifully shot and completely entertaining. Beautiful restoration.

Lenny – Two Dustin Hoffman pictures are also available in limited quantities from Twilight Time. I’m going to say this is a lost picture and it’s a darn shame. It was directed by Bob Fosse at the peak of his powers, Dustin and Valerie Perrine are on fire, all Oscar nominated by the way, and today’s audiences need to know all about Lenny Bruce. Its stark black and white photography is perfect for Blu-ray. Get this one while you can.

American Buffalo – If Lenny is lost, this is dead and buried. This is the movie of the classic David Mamet play, with Dustin Hoffman taking the lead which both Pacino and Duvall played onstage. Thanks for this one especially, Twilight Time.

Criterion wows us with the reverential treatment of lost noirs, most recently Ride the Pink Horse, never available on home video. Leave it to Criterion to bring out the entire restored classic on Blu-ray with tons of extras and a beautiful, lovely restoration. Robert Montgomery both stars and directs this masterpiece, based on the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes. This is never on TCM and is totally worth buying.

More treasures from Criterion include Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King, Richard Brooks’ film version of In Cold Blood and D.A. Pennebaker’s incisive look at Bob Dylan Don’t Look Back.

Kino Lorder’s Studio Collection, all on Blu-ray, offers an amazing selection of pictures in September, including Vigilante Force, starring Kris Kristofferson and Jan-Michael Vincent, featuring audio commentary with cult director George Armitage; Phil Karlson directing Rock Hudson in a terribly lost WWII thriller Hornet’s Nest and House of Long Shadows, which shows that Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and John Carradine could still have fun in the 80s.

Here’s some other lost gems – Billy Two Hats, a nice 70s western with Gregory Peck and Desi Arnaz Jr.; Busting, a great cop drama with Robert Blake and Elliot Gould: a grouping of Robert Mitchum movies, including Young Billy Young, Man With a Gun and The Wonderful Country and both Support Your Local Sheriff and Support Your Local Gunfighter, both with our recently departed Oklahoma native Jim Garner.

Star Vista & Time Life has been at the epicenter of great TV releases for a long time, but it seems to me they’re working overtime.

For the first time on DVD, the company has released the best episodes from the groundbreaking years of Carol Burnett’s beloved variety show, including the first episode aired, the first performances of many of her famous characters, legendary guest stars, and show-stopping musical performances.

Even Carol herself is thrilled to see these released.

“No one has seen the first five seasons of The Carol Burnett Show since they were first aired – no re-runs, no web streaming, no DVDs, nothing, nowhere, zip… until now,” she said.

And then there’s Hee Haw.

Roy Clark and Buck Owens hosted the countrified ensemble show, pickin’ and grinnin’ and singin’ and spinnin’ with a talented cast of characters. Minnie Pearl, Grandpa Jones, Archie Campbell, and the rest of the Hee Haw gang traded knee-slappers and gut-busting one-liners in hilarious sketches including “Doc Campbell,” “PFFT! You Was Gone” and “Gordie’s General Store“—as well as the all-time favorites “Rindercella” and “Trigonometry.“

And because Hee Haw was a favorite stop for country’s greatest stars, the collection features over 100 classic performances by country stars at the peaks of their careers, like Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams Jr. and so many more!

The complete set includes 2 Bonus DVDs. Hee Haw Laffs includes enduring sketches and countess comic moments from the early years, plus the series premiere with Loretta Lynn and Charley Pride as it aired in 1969. You’ll also enjoy exclusive bonus interviews with original cast members including Roy Clark and Lulu Roman.

To me, Hee Haw was always about the music. And, even if the jokes are stale or whatever, shut your eyes and listen.

Shout! Factory must be reading my mail with regard to their new releases.

There was once a New York tough guy novelist named Vincent Patrick who made a stunning fictional debut at a late age with a book called The Pope of Greenwich Village. The book was a stunner and it wasn’t long before the film was put into production, directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring two relative unknowns, Eric Roberts and Mickey Rourke. The result was one of the best films of the 80s, although it has flown completely off the radar until just now when it was released in Blu-ray. Trust me, it’s a gem.

Don’t get me started about Carole King – I think she has never been given her due. She is incapable of writing a bad song and is a generous performer with a legendary voice. She keeps making fabulous records and tours sporadically. And, of course, there’s a new jukebox musical of her songs on Broadway.

Shout! Factory recently released the MusicCares tribute to Carole and it’s unreal – here’s all I have to say – Carole and James Taylor performing “Sweet Seasons.”

Also, show of hands for those who remember The Thunderbirds? That was the series which featured the Supermarionation technique which influenced science fiction and pop culture forever. Timeless Media, part of Shout! Factory has released the entire series and I know several of my friends have already purchased. The same group has also released the complete series of The Saint, with Roger Moore.

Finally, Warner Archive releases so much on a weekly basis that I thought we might just discuss their venture into Blu-ray. The group has released several high end pictures in that format such as 42nd Street, The Great Race and The Hudsucker Proxy and now have released The Hunger, one of Tony Scott’s first movies, a vampire opus, with David Bowie, Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve; The World According to Garp, with our dear late Robin Williams and based on the book and Richard Donner’s Ladyhawke.